1 Pre-Service Science Teachers ’ Views on Their Online Argumentation about What Is Happening In Middle School Science Classrooms During Their Practicum Period* (original) (raw)
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Perspectives of Science & Education, 2022
The problem and the aim of the study. Pre-service science teachers have to do some experiments to teach students to find scientific truth. As a result of COVID-19 and the distance learning situation, the unqualified experimental process is found in the ability of pre-service science teachers to discuss findings that lack the support of reliable data. This study aims to see the effectiveness of the online scientific argumentation strategy on the pre-service science teachers' scientific reasoning through a basic science experiment course during the COVID-19 pandemic. Research methods. The research method used is a mix-methods research design. The data were collected using scientific reasoning tests and interviews and analyzed quantitively and qualitatively. Participants in this study were preservice science teachers at Universitas Negeri Semarang in Indonesia, consisting of 32 pre-service science teachers in the experimental class and 32 pre-service science teachers in the control class. Results. The essence of scientific argumentation is the delivery of ideas or statements accompanied by valid evidence by a group of people or individuals so that others can accept them. Considering the previous statement, the essence of the online scientific argumentation strategy is to deliver ideas or statements with valid and acceptable evidence through online media. The mean score for the experimental class is 9.9 and 8.5 for the control class. The mean score of pre-service science teachers' scientific reasoning with online scientific argumentation strategy is better than those without online scientific argumentation strategy. However, the number of correct answers for difficult essay questions is more significant than easy multiple-choice questions in some items. Therefore, an interview with pre-service science teachers who answered correctly was conducted. The respondents from the experimental class have no difficulty, while respondents from the control class have difficulty applying Archimedes' law and understanding questions with more than two variables. In conclusion, the implementation of the online scientific argumentation strategy effectively improves the pre-service science teachers' scientific reasoning through experiments at home during the COVID-19 outbreak. They learn to use the online scientific argumentation strategy in claims and evidence from the experiment results repeatedly to have proven new learning methods. For proper scientific reasoning, understanding is needed by integrating the data and facts so that the online scientific argumentation strategy becomes an alternative practical solution during a pandemic. This study will provide new insight into the online scientific argumentation strategy to improve scientific reasoning for universities. The results of this study may serve as a tool for further studies to explore other learning strategies to improve scientific reasoning or determine other skills that can be improved using the online scientific argumentation strategy.
Argumentation is highlighted as one of the most important activities of science education by many researchers. The main aim of this research is to examine primary school students’ nature of science classes and argumentation skills in terms of their academic success in primary science classes. Thus, the main interest of the study is centered on the nature of science lessons, the structure of the argument and an effort to scaffold students’ understanding concerning the argument’s structure. As this was considered the initial, but students have to acquire fundamental skills before dealing with the inner validity of an argument. Moreover, successful and chosen students for this study were studied carefully dense by the researchers. In that scope, the study was designed on qualitative research techniques which are detailed as explorative and fundamentally interpretation for the related topic. Since a particular school’s successful students are considered in the research, it could be viewed and designed as a case study. The study is conducted with 8th graders with the age of 12-13 in a private elementary school. Focus group interviews and classroom observations during science lessons were the basic tools to obtain data. The results were grouped under the following aspects: objectives of science education, science teaching methods of teachers, teaching materials and teacher’s attitudes towards his/her students during the class. Two science teachers in this school both give importance inquiry based teaching science. This research has demonstrated that even the most successful 8th graders in science classes do not necessarily understand fundamental concepts about nature and science. The science teachers in this research also mentioned that the interactive nature of information technologies can support students in carrying out inquiry-based activities, using problems, questions, and even theories that they themselves define and develop argumentation. Keywords: Science education, Elementary science, Argumentation, Scientific discussion
Eurasia Journal of Mathematics, Science and Technology Education, 2021
This article focuses on the integration of argumentation and digital technologies in science teacher education. We present theoretical reflections, results of empirical research, and description of innovative experiences with pre- and in-service biology teachers. Regarding argumentation, we analyse what defending a claim in science entails for teachers, the teaching strategies they (would) use in the classroom in relation to argumentation, the relevance that they attribute to the performance of different tasks for arguing, the subject content where argumentation fits more suitably, and the reasons they would consider in favour of arguing in science classes. For the analysis of educational practices that involve use of technologies, we adopt a perspective that looks at their complexity and recognises teachers as their creative authors. We discuss the way in which teachers (would) use technologies in their practice, their expectations around this, and the foreseen results with student...
SCIENCE LEARNING AS ARGUMENT BUILDING: AN INNOVATIVE COURSE FOR SECONDARY SCIENCE TEACHERS
To have science learners engage in "science as argumentation" has become one of the most important goals of reform-oriented science education in the US. However, one of the major barriers to accomplish this goal has been that K-12 teachers frequently are not prepared to guide their students through that process. This paper describes a science course (Technology Tools for Supporting Scientific Inquiry, SCIED 410) designed to support prospective teachers (PTs) development toward this goal. The course was conceptualized with current understandings about learning and US reform goals for science education in mind. In SCIED 410, PTs engaged as science learners in three long-term problem-based science investigations. They built evidence-based arguments as they continuously interacted with their peers. These activities were supported with the use of specially designed technology tools. PTs were also asked to reflect on their experiences, focusing on various aspects of the course, such as understandings about teaching and learning science, the nature of science, the use of technology in science learning, and their developing subject matter knowledge. We argue that this course is not merely a setting in which we apply our current knowledge about science/teacher learning, but that it also serves as a context for empirical research that has the potential to inform our understanding of the processes involved in scientific knowledge construction within the context of school and, in particular, by future teachers.
Shanlax International Journal of Education
This study is an attempt to examine science teachers’ views on Argumentation-Based Science Learning (ABSL) and the activities they have prepared. The study employed a qualitative case study method. The working group consisted of 5 science teachers who work in secondary schools affiliated with the Ministry of National Education in Turkey and who have master’s degree. This study deployed the “Semi-structured Preliminary Interview Form”, “The Evaluation Rubric related to the Activities Based on Argumentation-Based Science Learning “ and “Semi-structured Final Interview Form”. Content analysis and descriptive analysis were used during data analysis. The results revealed that the teachers’ perceptions towards ABSL before the implementation were mostly grounded on giving opinions and argumentation. Four teachers did not use ABSL in lessons before and they did not prepare any activities. On analyzing the activities prepared by the teachers through use of ABSL, all the teachers were identif...
The purpose of this study was to assess pre-service science teachers’ understanding of science, scientific argumentation and the difference between scientific argumentation and scientific explanation. A total of 40 pre-service science teachers enrolled in a Turkish university completed a five-question questionnaire. The results showed that the majority of participants lacked an adequate understanding of science, scientific argumentation, the difference between scientific explanation and scientific argumentation. Implications of these findings for science teacher education, classroom instruction and assessment were elaborated.
Science Education International , 2019
The aim of this study was to examine the quality of the written argument of pre-service science teachers on certain socio-scientific issues (SSI) and their opinions about the process of something. The study group consisted of 26 pre-service science teachers (18 females and 8 males) studying in their 3rd year of a state university. The purposeful sampling method was used for the study. In the study, a case study pattern was adopted from qualitative research designs. The study was instructed with the YouTube social media supported classroom discussion process. The data sources of the study consisted of sugar loading in pregnancy, raw/loose milk, and processed/pasteurized milk, written arguments for the SSI of the nuclear power plant, pre-service science teachers’ journals, researcher notes, and semistructured focus group interviews. The data obtained in the study were analyzed based on descriptive and content analysis techniques. The results of the study indicated that the quality of argument increased significantly during the implementation of something when the written arguments of pre-service science teachers were examined after class discussion. In the evaluation of the research process, it was determined that pre-service teachers’ awareness of the SSI and the YouTube supported classroom discussion process contributed positively to life skills and science process skills such as decision-making, hypothesis building, discussion, and analytical thinking. KEY WORDS: argumentation; pre-service science teachers; socio-scientific issues; YouTube
Science teachers and scientific argumentation: Trends in Views and Practice.
Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49(9), 1122-1148. (2012)
Current research indicates that student engagement in scientific argumentation can foster a better understanding of the concepts and the processes of science. Yet opportunities for students to participate in authentic argumentation inside the science classroom are rare. There also is little known about science teachers' understandings of argumentation, their ability to participate in this complex practice, or their views about using argumentation as part of the teaching and learning of science. In this study, the researchers used a cognitive appraisal interview to examine how 30 secondary science teachers evaluate alternative explanations, generate an argument to support a specific explanation, and investigate their views about engaging students in argumentation. The analysis of the teachers' comments and actions during the interview indicates that these teachers relied primarily on their prior content knowledge to evaluate the validity of an explanation rather than using available data. Although some of the teachers included data and reasoning in their arguments, most of the teachers crafted an argument that simply expanded on a chosen explanation but provided no real support for it. The teachers also mentioned multiple barriers to the integration of argumentation into the teaching and learning of science, primarily related to their perceptions of students' ability levels, even though all of these teachers viewed argumentation as a way to help students understand science. ß
The purpose of this study was to examine the altering perceptions and opinions of prospective elementary science teachers regarding argumentation while they were engaged in argumentative discourse. The participating teachers were engaged in socio-scientific argumentation for 9 weeks involving a 6 step process on a course " Special Topics in Physics ". Two sets of interview questions were addressed to participants at the beginning and end of the process. The data obtained through sets of questions were analyzed by means of inductive content analysis. Argumentation skills included in the sets of questions were analyzed by means of Toulmin's Argument Model. The results achieved showed that the socio-scientific argumentation processes created qualified learning environments in terms of science education. Positive changes occurred in the opinions of the participating teachers with respect to science education. It was also revealed that the participants improved their argumentation skills.